Background/Purpose:

IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD) is a relatively newly defined disease entity, which can affect multiple organs and exhibit clinical heterogeneity. Recently, it has been reported that allergy was associated with the pathogenesis and clinical performance of IgG4-RD in some part. Still, little is known about the role of allergy in IgG4-RD,  large cohort study is needed. We aim to investigate the role of allergy in IgG4-RD patients in the largest prospective IgG4-RD cohort in China.

Methods:

Three hundred and ninety IgG4-RD patients who referred to Peking Union Medical College Hospital between January 2011 and April 2018 were enrolled. Using the definitions of the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, we classified the subjects as either allergic or non-allergic. Clinical features of all the participants were collected and analyzed statistically.  

< >Results:

< >We found that 47.95%(187/390) of our patients had a history of allergy. Allergic patients showed elevated incidence of salivary glands, paranasal sinus, and skin affection, while non-allergic patients had more renal, large artery involvement and retroperitoneal fibrosis. Allergic patients also exhibited significantly up-regulated eosinophil, serum IgG4, IgE levels and IgG4/IgG ratio, while non-allergic patients presented with increased ESR, CRP, IgG1 levels, IgG1/IgG ratio, and higher incidence of anemia. No significant differences were found in baseline treatment options and the recurrence rate during follow-up.

Conclusion:

Clinical study put forward that allergic station did relate to different characteristics in IgG4-RD patients, therefore, basic research is needed to clarify the potentially related mechanism.